Chapter Two - Literature Review - The Meaning and Practice of the Integration of Faith and Learning (original) (raw)
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The Integration of Faith and Learning in the Christian School
The integration of faith and learning is essential to religious schools. Though there are practical differences in how faith is integrated, fundamental differences exist in how schools conceive and articulate such integration. Beginning with a review of the historical, political, and philosophical roots of the religious school movement in America, this study examined the beliefs of religious schools about the integration of faith and learning, and how those beliefs work out in the school program. Examples included Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, and various Protestant schools in the United States and Europe. Several integration models were presented. Finally, a model of integration based on the work of the 20th century theologian, apologist, and educator Cornelius Van Til was presented.
Literature Review for the Integration of Faith and Learning
A review of the Christian school literature finds a common theme, that is, the search for and description of the distinctives of the Christian school. There is an understanding that the Christian school exists as an alternative to public schools and non-religious private schools for a variety of historical, philosophical, and practical reasons. The literature makes it clear that Christian educators need to clarify their distinctiveness and pass on to the next generation of Christian educators the history, foundations, and vision of Christian education. The purpose of this paper is to examine the literature as it relates to the definition of the Christian school, specifically, the meaning of the expression “the integration of faith and learning,” which is frequently used in descriptions of the distinctive features of the Christian school. In the course of this review the concepts of the religious experience of the faculty, the covenantal nature of education, religious neutrality, epistemological dualism, philosophical antithesis, and the expressions “all truth is God’s truth,” and “thinking God’s thoughts after Him” are explored.
Chapter One - Introduction - The Meaning and Practice of the Integration of Faith and Learning
Dissertation: The Meaning and Practice of the Integration of Faith and Learning, 2012
A distinctive of private religious schooling is the opportunity to integrate faith and learning in the school curriculum, or perhaps (according to one theological/philosophical construct) it is to recognize how faith is already an integral part of all learning, even all of life. Were it not for the religious perspective, faith-based schools might look the same as many public and private non-sectarian schools. The integration of faith and learning is an essential ingredient that makes religious schools what they are.
Dissertation: The Meaning and Practice of the Integration of Faith and Learning, 2012
The purpose of this study is to explore the distinctiveness of the Christian school, specifically as expressed in the phrase, “the integration of faith and learning (IFL),” and to investigate how experienced teachers understand this expression and how they actually see faith integrated in practice. The goal is to contribute toward a vision of what it means to integrate faith in the process of teaching and learning in religious schools and how IFL is practiced. The research was defined by the following research questions: 1) What are the distinctive qualities of the Christian School? 2) What does the expression, “the integration of faith and learning” mean to the Christian school teacher? 3) How does a Christian school teacher integrate faith in the classroom? Or How does a Christian school teacher practice IFL? To answer these questions data were gathered through a multiple case study. Twenty-eight kindergarten through twelfth grade teachers with five or more years of experience participated in interviews designed to gather data about their understanding and practice of IFL. Participants—15 female and 13 male—represented 11 Christian schools which are affiliated with five Christian school associations in four states. The interviews consisted of eight questions and two follow-up questions. Questions one through four sought to determine that all participants met the study criteria, by establishing that participants are people of faith who affirm that faith could be integral in life and learning.
Chapter Four - Research Findings - The Meaning and Practice of the Integration of Faith and Learning
Dissertation - The Meaning and Practice of the Integration of Faith and Learning, 2012
The goal of this research is to explore the meaning and practice of the integration of faith and learning (IFL) in the context of the Christian school. This research was accomplished following a multiple case study method. The phenomenon being studied was “the integration of faith and learning.” This phenomenon was explored as it was manifested in individual cases, namely, in participants who were K-12 teachers in Christian day schools. Each new case was treated as a replication of the study. Data were gathered primarily through interviews with teacher participants. In addition, I toured and photographed school facilities and classrooms, observed student interaction, hall and classroom displays, bulletin boards, and noted especially visual and artifact evidence for the integration of faith and learning. I also read school and school association literature, especially mission and vision statements, and school and association web sites. Interviews followed a structured question format and the interview questions were based upon these research questions: 1) What are the distinctive qualities of the Christian School? 2) What does the expression, “the integration of faith and learning” mean to the Christian school teacher? 3) How does a Christian school teacher integrate faith in the classroom? Or How does a Christian school teacher practice IFL?
Viewing the School as a Community of Faith
2001
The paper takes the position that Christian schools function in a world tl}.at is essentially antagonistic to the principles and values of the Kingdom of God. Further, it sees that "world" as dynamically decadent and alienating. Even humanists acknowledge the dis-integrative, anticommunitarian spirit that pervades society. Many Christian teachers appear to be oblivious to these forces, and many schools unwittingly subscribe to popular policies and practices that are essentially contradictory to the spirit of Christian faith. It is argued further that many attempts to integrate faith, learning and practice induce dualism instead. The paper asserts that it is the role and responsibility of the Christian school to confront these forces and provide a learning environment that, as part of the mission of the Church, is essentially redemptive and restorative, upbuilding both individuals and the community of faith they comprise. The paper attempts first to describe the contemporary climate, then, second, to identify the link with disintegrative practices in the educational context, and, finally, to explore what might represent true integration and Christian distinctiveness in the face of such challenges.
377 Integration of Faith and Learning Theory and Practice Part I By
2002
This paper attempts to review the concepts of integration or faith and learning its role in Christian Education and presents a model of levels of teacher integration of faith in their classes. The concept of integration in education One of the three criteria that Tyler (1946) thought should be considered as a guide to organizing learning experiences in integration. According to him, "integration refers to the horizontal relationship of curriculum experiences" (p. 86), and these experiences should be organized in such a way as to help students formulate an increasingly unified view, and to behave accordingly. Although the ST. Olaf College Self Study Committee (1956) did not define "integration," their utilization of the term suggests similarities with Tyler. They presented a review of integrating factors in education throughout the ages. According to them, in early Creek education, being a good citizen was the main integrating factor in education. This integration dissolved with sophists, who sustained personal advancement and individual success instead of social services and public usefulness. Early Roman education also was founded on the integrating aim to be a virtuous person: good citizen, soldier, and workers. Christianity gave a new meaning to life and new objectives to education. During the Middle Ages, integration, synthesis, and order were the goal of education based upon authoritatively given goals and methods, but this aim degenerated towards the end of the Middle Ages, when the Process of disintegration and fragmentation started with the overflow of new interests. The aim for education in the early modern age was actualizing humanity in every individual, based upon reason as the principle of truth. Integration was not discussed because autonomous reason and the principle of automative harmony were already in the mind of mankind. Integration or harmony could be left to take care of itself. As the Industrial Revolution began in Western Europe, bringing such political changes, as democracy, profound transformations occurred in society and education. Reason was no longer the
Instructional Strategies for the Integration of Faith and Learning
Christian education focuses on the formation of Christian persons. Given the Lordship of Jesus Christ in every aspect of life (Col. 3:17; 1 Cor. 10:31), we need educational programs that teach young people to think Christianly and to be consistently Christian in all aspects of life. Such integration of faith and learning remains "the distinctive task" of the Christian school (Holmes, 1987, p. 8). In order that students might relate everything in life and learning to their faith, all subjects in a Christian school must be taught from a Christian perspective. Students must recognize that the farthest reaches of any subject still lie within the realm of God's truth. Such an educational program must be revelation-based, doctrinally correct, and philosophically coherent (Beck, 1991). It must seek to foster in its students spiritual growth, ethical integrity, church relatedness, world consciousness, and evangelistic outreach. The problem for many Christian educators, however, is not so much a matter of knowledge, but of application. We recognize that Christian schools must be distinctively "salty," genuinely committed and authentically Christian (Matt. 5:13). We are convinced that the integration of faith and learning must be vibrant and evident in the academic community. So what is missing? The crucial link is frequently the step from theory to practice, from belief to action, from perception to realization. How does a Christian teacher go about integrating faith in the teaching/learning experience? Approaches to the Integration of Faith and learning In some educational programs identified as Christian, there is, in fact, a total separation of faith and learning (see Figure 1). Faith experiences are relegated to chapel periods, "Bible classes," extracurricular activities, or weekend religious functions. Learning is channeled to the "academic subjects"-history, science, psychology, literature, statistics, and the like. In fact, if one were to drop into one of these classes, it would be difficult to tell any difference from a course taught in any good non-sectarian institution. There is, in essence, a disjunction of faith and learning (Holmes, 1987), each relegated to its own sphere. When faith and learning are thus separated, there is a resulting disintegration of both faith and learning. With little reasonable evidence to consider (Heb. 11:1), faith erodes into blind belief. Without a holistic faith perspective that relates knowledge to the ultimate Source of Truth (Prov. 2:6; Col. 2:2-3), learning also begins to fragment. Universities, places where one was to view life in its totality, have splintered into multi-versities, each discipline compartmentalized into its own academic cocoon, isolated from the real issues of life.